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The Northern Gods
The history of the northern gods in complex, with the pantheon itself splitting, re-merging, and adding/removing gods many times throughout history. First Pantheons The very first northern pantheon was made by the Highlander people of northern Veten. It consisted of The Daghdha, Oghma, and Arawn. Each Highlander clan worshiped a particular one of these deities as their clans patron god, though to bring their clan good luck. As there were only three mainstream gods at the time, The clans that shared patron gods had friendlier relations with one another and often were related by marriage, blood, or both. As each clan built up their kingdoms, they were in a state of constant war with clans with other patron gods fighting for religious supremacy. While the Highlander clans were building up their small kingdoms and tearing them down again for the clan's patron god, the Ironborn (who had sporadically ventured down to Veten to raid the Highlands) came down from their icy homes far to the north and started a permanent settlement on the small islands in the Iron Sea, just north of where the Highlanders laid claim. They worshiped their own icy gods, most notably a god known only as 'the Deep One'. There was often conflict in this period, as the newly arriving Ironborn infringed upon Highlander land and with their settlement brought a strange religion that went against the beliefs of the Highlanders. Heretics were either killed or exiled from lands of the opposing faith, as borders changed by the year with the near-constant conflict. Second Pantheon - The First Merge After a century of strife between the two warring peoples, the Ironborn and Highlander peoples decided to reform their respective religions to make them more tolerant of those with different beliefs. The Ironborn added numerous deities not previously regarded as gods to their pantheon, making it similar to their modern pantheon (alongside the Deep One). Highlanders too added gods to their pantheon, which now consisted of the gods that make up their current pantheon. With these new additions to their pantheons, the Ironborn and Highlanders created a period of tolerance between the two faiths. With what seemed to be an end to the warfare that had defined previous years and a stabilization of national borders, religious tolerance was preached by both sides. After 130 years of acceptance of the two religious, they had become all but merged as one pantheon - worship of any god was accepted in any Ironborn or Highlander clan. The First Schism The religious toleration and unity of the previous 130 years did not last, though through no fault of the Ironborn or the Highlander people (though historians of opposing sides might disagree with that). In reality, it was the gods themselves that prompted the First Schism. The Highlander people had always feared and shunned all mention of the Deep One, the head of the Ironborn pantheon. While the Ironborn saw him as a bringer of knowledge and protection while at sea, the Highlanders saw the Deep One as an aberration that violated the very nature of the world they lived in - and they were correct. The Deep One was actually the ancient deity Herma Mora, masquerading as simply a god of knowledge and the ocean. The Dragon War The Highlander and Ironborn peoples united in a shaky, but militarily powerful alliance (known as the Iron Union, solidified by a marriage between an Ironborn prince-admiral and a the youngest daughter of a Highlander king) in the year ### in an attempt to stave off incursions by dragons from the Teuton Mountains. The dragons marched massive armies, consisting of kobolds, dragonborn, and half-dragon shock troops, with elite abishai acting as officers for individual regiments. The dragons themselves led entire armies, or conducted hit-and-run raids against human villages in northern Veten. Slowly but surely, the Iron Union lost ground to the invading dragons. The famed Ironborn fleet could do little against dragons flying above, and while the Highlander soldiers knew their lochs and fjords like the back of their hand, they could do little against the sheer number of enemies they faced. Eventually, the Iron Union was pushed to the Ironborn holdings north of the Highlands and a loose tscattering of islands just off of the shore. However, all was not lost for the Union - a hero would rise to combat the dragon threat. Born to a coastal Highlander clan that had intermarried with various Ironborn families, Veksef devoted much of his time in his youth to exploring the hills and waterways surrounding his home. After coming of age, Veksef decided to join the war against the dragons, which had yet to reach the coast of the Highlands. Prior to joining the military however, Veksef went on one last journey around the